THE WHOOSHING NOISE they hear in Mexico is the sound of ancient Indian relics that are sucked into the United States by smugglers after the objects are looted from archaeological sites.

But the looting occurs not just in Mexico but throughout Central and South America. Relics from the Aztec, Mayan and other pre-Columbian civilizations are pillaged and smuggled.

If authorities in Mexico and other Latin American countries do as poor of a job of preventing archaeological treasures from being smuggled into the U.S. as they do in preventing illegal drugs from being produced and smuggled to the U.S., it is a wonder that there is a single relic remaining below the border.

The U.S. Customs Service recently conducted a seminar to train customs inspectors about the smuggling of relics. Archaeologists worked to teach them how to tell whether objects were valuable.

We approve of the seminar. The loss of relics is a problem for many countries, and training our agents is part of being a good neighbor.

But, while U.S. taxpayers were paying to train our law enforcement officers, we wonder what Mexico and the other countries were doing to stop relics smuggling on the other end.

What steps are being taken to prevent the looting of the objects at burial and archaeological sites? Are Mexico and other countries hiring and training law enforcement officers to protect pre-Columbian treasures?

It is good that our agents are learning how to prevent relics from getting into our country. But other countries should be working to keep relics out of the hands of smugglers.